cy and truth of his work will
stand the test of ages, and preserve future navigators from the
horrors of shipwreck and destruction, he does not repine at its having
employed so large a portion of his life."

The engrossing nature of his occupation as engineer did not hinder
DesBarres from being an ambitious land speculator. In 1765 he
obtained, in conjunction with General Haldimand and one or two others,
a grant of the Township of Hopewell, comprising 100,000 acres on the
Petitcodiac river. But he derived little benefit from his lands, as
he was unable to fulfill the conditions of settlement, and eventually
they reverted to the crown.

In 1784, Des Barres was appointed Lieut. Governor of Cape Breton, and
afterwards Lieut. Governor of Prince Edward Island. He died at Halifax
on the 27th October, 1824, and was honored with a state funeral at
which the attendance was great and the interest felt very remarkable.
This was due, in some measure, to the fact that had he lived another
month he would have attained the extraordinary age of 103 years.
Beamish Murdoch observes:

"Colonel DesBarres' scientific labors on our coasts, and his repute as
one of the heroes of 1759 under Wolfe at Quebec, gave him a claim on
the gratitude and reverence of all Nova Scotians."

This sentiment was not shared by the Acadians of Memramcook, who found
difficulty in resisting the claims of the heirs of DesBarres to the
lands they had settled. Two Lots in the upper part of the Township of
Maugerville were granted to Governor DesBarres and had he settled
there he would have been the next-door neighbor of the Widow Clark,
but there is nothing to show that he made any attempt to improve his
lands in that quarter and so his connection with the settlement is
nothing but a name.

Joshua Mauger, the other non-resident grantee to whom reference has
been made, was an English merchant who came to America as a contractor
under government for furnishing supplies to the army at Louisbourg.
When Cape Breton was restored to France, in 1749, Louisbourg was
evacuated and Mauger came with the troops to Halifax. Shortly after
his arrival he and other merchants asked permission to build wharves
on the beach for the accommodation of their business. In 1751 he was
appointed agent for victualling the Navy. Grog was at that time freely
dispensed in the army and navy, and Mauger erected a distillery where
he manufactured the rum required for the troops and seamen. As